Welcome

Welcome to the SETAC Human Health Risk Assessment Advisory Group (HHRA AG) webpage. Participation in HHRA AG is open to all interested parties. Members within the HHRA AG come from various backgrounds including: academic, consultancy, industry, regulatory. We have monthly conference calls (third Tuesday at 3:00 EST). If you are interested in participating in the HHRA AG please contact either Betty Locey (AG Chairman) or Spencer Williams (AG Secretary).

Introduction

SETAC believes that there is a fundamental role that our society should play in the study of the monitoring and effects of incidental or accidental exposures of organisms, including human beings, to toxins and environmental chemicals in the environment (e.g., air, water, soil and food). Therefore, SETAC is supporting the advancement of the study of HHRA through the development of unique advisory groups like the HHRA AG, and by placing a greater focus on developing technical sessions at our annual meetings that fill a much needed niche at the interface between environmental exposures and human health risk assessment.

Scope

The scope of the SETAC HHRA AG includes any interactions between human activities and environmental exposures. Industrial pollutants and other emerging contaminants are included. Scientific coverage of the environmental contaminants includes all fields pertinent to conducting effective environmental risk assessments for human health impacts such as transport, fate, exposure, effect and impact analysis. All environmental compartments, such as aquatic, terrestrial, air and biomass are included.

Mission and Purpose

The HHRA AG exists to serve as a scientific resource to all stakeholders impacted by the topic of human health exposures and risk related to contaminants in the environment, and fulfills the following mission and purpose:

Serve as a focal point within SETAC as a means of involving the membership in research and discussions

Stimulate critical assessment in order to establish the best available science

Encourage the worldwide incorporation of the best available science and strategic approaches

Advance the overall understanding of the fate, effects, and potential health consequences of environmental contaminants

Provide scientific support to ensure effective regulatory decision making

Provide a neutral platform and focal point for collaborative identification, evaluation and resolution of scientific issues

Regulator Issues

The SETAC HHRA AG periodically draws on the expertise of its members to comment on regulatory issues. In April 2011, the SETAC HHRA AG participated in preparing comments on two issues that had been submitted for consideration as emerging policy issues to the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM)International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM) at its third session (2012).

HHRA Meeting at SETAC Conferences

The HHRA AG typically holds two formal meetings per year at the SETAC North America Annual Meeting and the SETAC Europe Annual Meeting.Informal networking socials are also sometimes held during those meetings. Please contact the chair person or the secretary for further information.

HHRA AG Sponsored Sessions

The HHRA AG sponsors sessions at North America SETAC Annual meeting. The HHRA AG also sponsors session together with other societies (e.g., SOT). Please contact the chair person or the secretary for further information regarding HHRA AG sponsored sessions.

HHRA AG News

The newly formed Human Health Risk Assessment Advisory Group (HHRA AG) had its first meeting at the SETAC North America conference held in Portland, Oregon on November 8, 2010. Over the next year, the HHRA AG will focus on increasing the visibility and practice of human health risk assessment within SETAC. This will be accomplished by developing and sponsoring technical sessions and other activities that focus the science and art of evaluating environmental exposures, toxicity and evaluation of human health risk and hazards. Currently this group is under SETAC North America, but if there is sufficient global interest, it may become a global advisory group.

The Portland meeting was well attended (approximately 50 people) and included a lively discussion moderated by Betty Locey (ARCADIS), the HHRA AG chair. Much of the hour-long meeting was spent discussing what 2 or 3 technical topics the group would like to focus on in the next year and what type of activities to promote. Suggestions were many and included: nanomaterials, harmonizing human health and eco risk assessment, looking at the entire human community (public health model), mapping/GIS, genomic technologies, bioavailability, food safety/drinking water, environmental justice, risk communication/risk perception, indoor chemical fate and behavior, secondary exposure, multi-pathway exposure, sediment, endocrine disruptors, ecosystem services, green initiatives, and pharmacological and personal care products. The planning will continue during monthly conference calls. We are also in the process of establishing the steering committee for the group.

The HHRA AG plans to sponsor at least one session and/or a plenary session at the SETAC North America conference next year in Boston. If you are interested in joining the HHRA AG or would like to included in further emails, please go to your membership profile on the SETAC web site and check Human Health Risk Assessment in the list of Advisory Groups. You will automatically be added to the group listserve and gain access to the group’s "communities" forum.